The APAC printing inks market is projected to reach $7,000.2 million by 2023, the market growth is driven by the growing consumption of packaged food items and rising demand of bio-based products,

Insights into market segments

On the basis of product, the APAC printing inks market is segmented into lithographic inks, flexographic inks, gravure inks, digital inks, letterpress inks, and others; 'others' include metallic inks, fluorescent inks, and magnetic inks. Of all products, flexographic inks are expected to exhibit the fastest growth in the market, witnessing a CAGR of 5.7% during the forecast period. This is attributed to their superior properties over other types, such as the ability to generate solid colors on porous and non-porous substrates. Along with that, they are very versatile and can be used on almost every non-absorbent material.

Based on formulation, the APAC printing inks market is categorised into oil-based, solvent-based, water-based, and others. Oil-based was the largest formulation category in the market, contributing more than 40.0% revenue in 2017. This can be attributed to its properties such as the ability to print well and better on most of the things including coated or gloss stocks, as compared to other inks.

On the basis of application, the APAC printing inks market is categorized into labels and packaging, commercial printing, publication, and others. Labels and packaging application accounted for more than 40.0% share in the market in 2017. This can be ascribed to the increasing use of packaged foods and goods in the region owing to increasing disposable income, resulting in the increasing need of printing inks for labels and packaging applications.

China stands as the largest printing inks market in APAC

China has been generating the highest revenue in the APAC printing inks market. Increasing demand of packaging and paper media is fueling the demand of these inks in the country. Along with that, growing urbanization coupled with increasing literacy rate is also contributing towards the increasing demand of these inks in China.

Over the past few years, countries such as China, India, and Indonesia have emerged as some of the major markets for printing inks. The rapid industrialization and commercialization in these countries have resulted in sharp increase in the consumption of these inks for office purposes. Additionally, the rising living style in emerging nations have resulted in greater consumption of packaged foods items and consumables, which is a major opportunity for market growth. With the continued economic growth in major APAC nations, the market for these inks is expected to grow in these countries.